manynovel Chapter 277 Pine Nuts Fall on the Chessboard
Chapter 277 Pine Nuts Fall on the Chessboard
Chapter 277 Pine Nuts Fall on the Chessboard
This time, in order to prevent the rear from being attacked, only the Red Lotus Mother led the way forward, while Luo Shuang'er and the Six Ding Goddesses stayed behind to guard the carriage. In fact, only Jiang Wen, Yuan Ziyi, and Yan Yongchun went deep into the mountains.
The sword furnace charcoal kiln discovered by the Red Lotus Mother and her entourage is located under the Grape Rock in the north of Zhanlu Mountain. It is a place where ancient trees block out the sun and streams are clear, and has been seldom visited by humans for many years.
The winding mountain trails were covered with animal marks, and the chirping of birds in the ears seemed very hurried and uneasy, as if Jiang Wen and his group of outsiders were invading this strange land without knowing the time.
Yan Yongchun was walking behind Jiang Wen and vaguely noticed someone sighing, so she couldn't help but ask.
"Master Jiang, have you noticed anything wrong? Why do you keep shaking your head and sighing?"
"Ah? Did I sigh?"
Jiang Wen looked at the increasingly steep rocky road, glanced at several ancient furnaces not far away, and began to explain.
"I shook my head because after walking here, I realized that this place is definitely not the place where Ou Yezi forged his sword. It is probably just a false formation set up by someone who wanted to imitate him."
According to the "Yue Jue Shu", when Ou Yezi was forging the sword, "the rain master swept the ground, the thunder god struck the bellows; the dragon held the axe, the Emperor of Heaven loaded charcoal; Taiyi looked down, and the spirit of heaven descended upon it." However, the actual sword-forging process was not as romantic as portrayed by literati artists.
Iron smelting and sword making is a profound art. Even though there are not as many large-scale equipment as in modern industry, it is impossible for Ou Yezi and his apprentices to cut down two short trees in the mountains, pick up some ore, build a workbench and forge swords by themselves.
Iron smelting is a systematic project. Ou Yezi must represent a sword-making team. The division of labor should be very clear. Some are sent to screen iron sand, some are sent to burn charcoal, and then iron smelting, blasting, forging, and quenching are all done with manpower. Even dozens of people in the deep mountains may not be enough.
At that time, Ou Yezi was hired by King Yunchang of Yue to forge swords in Zhanlu Mountain of Songxi. King Yue would definitely send soldiers to guard him and provide logistical supplies. Therefore, Ou Yezi and his team would not only have dozens of people, but even hundreds of people to complete the sword-making project.
The main peak of Zhanyun where Jiang Wen is now is all hard rock with a very thin soil layer. The ancients could not have been stupid enough to choose to refine swords on the main peak of Zhanyun. Therefore, these so-called "primitive" ancient sites should all be the result of misunderstandings and forgeries of later generations.
"Master Jiang is right. This place is rarely visited by people even now. It was even more difficult to travel here thousands of years ago. Swordsmiths would not come here to suffer."
Yan Yongchun nodded, thinking that what Jiang Wen said made sense, so she didn't ask any more questions.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the foot of Grape Rock, ready to see what this sword furnace, which had been built at some unknown time, looked like.
Suddenly, an open space appeared in the deep mountains and dense forests. A piece of gray-white granite with a remaining length of more than two feet stood between the cliffs. The bottom was relatively flat with traces of artificial carving, while the other side was polished very smoothly, and there were reddish-brown spots on the upper part left by high-temperature fire forging.
However, this is only the base of the furnace. The furnace itself has been cracked into many pieces, and there are remnants of ceramic molds half buried and half exposed in the soil on both sides. If it were not for the large amount of iron slag and carbon dust condensed in the broken cavity, it would be difficult to tell that this was originally an iron furnace.
"Look, this loose red clay mold should be a disposable outer mold for casting iron. After the iron block solidifies, the outer mold is broken and the rough blank is taken out for further forging. It looks like a rough blank for tools such as hammers, woks, knives, and sickles, and has little to do with swords."
But when they looked at the charcoal kiln room, their expressions changed.
Outside the kiln room, which was blackened by smoke, there were a few broken window frames and door panels scattered around. They were obviously dismantled from the temple and had not yet been burned as firewood. The earthen walls inside the kiln room were covered with deep scratches made by fingernails, as if someone was trying to dig a way out with his fingers in the midst of despair and collapse.
"It shouldn't be so troublesome to kill people and silence them. These people are really crazy!"
Yan Yongchun raised her hand angrily and slapped the tree beside her. A force shot out from her wrist. Her wrist was not damaged at all, but she immediately shook the towering tree. It was obvious that her boxing and palm skills had improved a lot.
Yuan Ziyi, on the other hand, was a little indifferent. After stopping the angry Yan Yongchun, she asked doubtfully, "What happened after burning the body? Even if they didn't bury it nearby, they wouldn't have carried the body around with them, right?"
"This mountain is full of lush forests and bamboos. It's easy to hide a few bodies. Running away with the charred bodies is too abnormal. A normal person wouldn't do such a thing."
Jiang Wen nodded and said, "But such a cruel person may not be a normal person. Abnormal behavior cannot be dealt with by common sense and may often violate common sense."
The three women turned to look at Jiang Wen, as if they wanted to hear more of his opinions.
Jiang Wen coughed lightly: "The principle is very simple. For example, when playing chess, the victory or defeat of ordinary people depends on the fighting on the chessboard, the victory or defeat of ruthless people can be outside the chessboard, and the victory or defeat of abnormal people can even depend on the chessboard itself which weighs several kilograms..."
"For people like this who kill for fun, killing is no longer a means of doing things. They treat it more like a hobby and interest. They even frequently appear at crime scenes, hoping that others will discover, discuss and be proud of it."
Seeing Yuan Ziyi and Yan Yongchun looking sideways with nervous expressions, Jiang Wen quickly added, "Don't get me wrong, I'm doing a psychological analysis, not something I've done before."
Yuan Ziyi looked at Jiang Wen suspiciously: "That's hard to say. On the Great King Peak where Sect Leader Jiang is, the caves and rock caves in the mountains are full of coffin corpses. Could it be that there are also..."
Jiang Wen turned away, unwilling to pay attention to her malicious speculation.
"Don't talk nonsense! Wuyi Mountain has always been a place where alchemists and fairies make elixirs and seek immortality. It is normal for people to become immortal after taking elixirs and mercury. It is said that before I came here, there were more corpses on the mountain than what you see now. Later, for some unknown reason, many of them were lost."
After viewing the remains of the iron smelting furnace, the group changed direction and walked slowly along the mountain stream. It seemed that someone was using pine wood as a beam to guide the water on the side of the road. The sound of the water flowing in the stream was like a zither, and it seemed like the sound of nature.
This kind of human traces is the best clue. Several people followed it and came to a flat and wide rock that looked like a chessboard. The mountain here is steep and the forest is dense. There is a deep ravine just a few steps away. If it weren't for the Red Lotus Mother to guide the way, they would never have discovered that under this chessboard rock, there is a narrow crevice that is only wide enough for one person to pass through, and it is connected to a rather wide stone chamber.
Looking from the outside, there were some stone benches and wooden tables randomly placed in the dim stone room, which had been weathered by the wind and frost. Before you even get close, you can smell an extremely foul smell. The foul air seems to be entangled with something substantial, making your eyes go black.
"Don't go over there, it's the stench of a corpse that's been there for more than half a year! I'm very familiar with this purity!"
The stench of a decayed corpse is toxic to the human body, so Jiang Wen quietly activated his internal energy to detoxify and chose to walk into the stone chamber alone, ignoring the suspicions of the other three people.
The cave was dark and damp. There were five or six corpses sitting around a wooden table, hugging each other's shoulders. On the table were some coarse porcelain plates and bowls filled with unknown food that had rotted and decayed into a ball and was now filled with maggot shells and pupae.
After a rough assessment by Jiang Wen, it was found that these people had indeed been dead for at least a year or so, and from the rotting parts of their bodies, it could be seen that there were various residual injuries.
Some of them looked like they had been stabbed by a knife, leaving many scars. After Jiang Wen opened their clothes, the exposed flesh was all red, very similar to the dried meat jerky he usually saw, except for a few severe wounds that were blue-black in color. The flesh and skin were attached to the bones and could not be eaten by insects, as if they had been killed by a single blow from someone who had mastered the palm technique.
What is strange is that, judging from the remaining flesh and skin of these corpses, their noses are sunken and their eyes are empty, except for a strange arc at the corners of their mouths. Their arm-in-arm posture remains intact, as if they were still chatting and feasting in front of them, and yet they have turned into such a smelly and rotten corpse, hidden forever in the dark cave.
Jiang Wen gradually got used to the dimness in the cave and checked for clues that might be left in other places. He soon found some daily utensils used by monks, incense account books with the name of the temple printed on them scattered all over the ground, and religious vessels made of gold and silver piled up in the corners. Countless clues were closely related to the Zhanlu Zen Temple.
Just as Jiang Wen walked around the four corners of the stone chamber one by one, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a strange feeling from the corner of his eyes - the feeling was very strange, as if there was something staring at him in the corner behind him which was obviously empty, making him feel creepy and uneasy.
Jiang Wen turned his head suddenly, and saw only the empty stone wall and weeds he had just passed, but he suddenly felt a breath very close to him behind him, and was about to hit his back in the next second!
Mingming's instinct sounded a warning bell, and he slapped his palm behind him. The powerful force caused a whistling wind to suddenly blow in the narrow stone chamber, and countless dust was blown back to the only cave entrance.
However, this iron palm still did not hit anything. When Jiang Wen looked back again, there were only dried and withered corpses supporting each other behind him. They were completely immersed in the silence unique to the dead and could not extricate themselves. Only a dazed living person was left.
Jiang Wen noticed something strange. His martial artist intuition must be trustworthy. So what could be causing trouble in this empty stone chamber?
Before Jiang Wen had time to figure out the problem and before he stopped, he felt another breath approaching rapidly in the dust, bringing with it a creepy sense of danger, and still trying to get closer to his back.
Without any hesitation, he drew out the ancient sword Zhanlu and quickly leaned against the stone wall. However, the sense of danger remained as if someone was attacking him in the air. Jiang Wen could only capture the energy in the void and use his exquisite sword moves to fight with the invisible air in a deserted cave!
During the fight, Jiang Wen's sword suddenly brushed against the rock, sparking sparks, but inadvertently cut a crack in the rock chamber, revealing another deep, dark and narrow space. He then took advantage of the situation and used his sword to completely break through the rock wall.
The space behind the rock wall was as big as a Buddhist shrine. It was originally filled with mortar, mud and ash to make it look like a rock wall. Now, as it was exposed, a gilded Buddha statue suddenly appeared in front of Jiang Wen.
This Buddha statue is sitting cross-legged, wearing an iron crown on its head, and has a hunched body less than three feet tall. Its style is very different from the solemn Buddha statues in ordinary temples. It is wrapped in a bright yellow robe, with only the Buddha's face exposed.
But the most strange thing was this Buddha's face. The Buddha statue had ears hanging down to his shoulders, a round face, and was covered with shiny gold powder. However, the proportions of the Buddha's facial features and the contours of his eyebrows and eyes were all cast according to those of an ordinary person. From a distance, it looked like a person with a golden face and an iron crown, curled up in a cave the size of a shrine, staring at himself!
Jiang Wen was stunned for a moment, then he decisively flew up and snatched away the Buddha statue. Then he protected his body with the extremely strict Hengshan sword style, and walked out of the chessboard stone chamber with his back against the stone wall until he was completely out of the cave. Only then did the inexplicable approaching aura completely disappear, as if a midnight nightmare had dissipated in the air of reality.
Jiang Wen thought that the three people outside the cave would come up to him and ask him what happened when they saw him retreating in a panic. However, until Jiang Wen put the heavy golden Buddha on the ground, Yuan Ziyi and others still did not move.
Jiang Wen turned around and found that the three of them were staring at the chessboard stone above their heads. Yan Yongchun raised her hands, Yuan Ziyi took off the silver whip, and the Red Lotus Mother also showed a rare fear in her eyes, as if she was alert to the appearance of something, and even ignored the movements of Jiang Wen behind her.
The sound of pine needles falling could be heard clearly, as if the entire empty mountain was shrouded in silence. Jiang Wen's low voice finally broke the silence, but it only brought back Yuan Ziyi's slightly trembling answer.
"Someone walked past the chessboard stone above our heads several times. At first we thought it was a woodcutter chopping wood, but the noise kept coming and getting closer and closer to us."
"We sensed something was wrong, so we lay in ambush outside the cave to see who it was, but we discovered that there was a headless person on the chessboard stone, walking unsteadily on it, and in the blink of an eye he disappeared beside the pine tree..."
"Then there was this headless thing, it seemed to be following us! It appeared several times, coming out from all directions in the forest..."
Suddenly, Yuan Ziyi's eyes revealed a look of fear. She pointed at a position very close to Jiang Wen's back, and her voice suddenly rose octaves!
"That thing is coming again! It's right behind you!"
(End of this chapter)